Coin-controlled apparatus



July '8. 1924. r

M. O. S. MADSEN 2OIN CONTROLLED APPARATUS Fil d Apri1 30. 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. MATHIAS 00m S'EVERIN MADSEN.

ATTORNEYS.

July 8, 192 4. I 1,500,462

* M 0. s. MADSEN com CONTROLLED APPARATUS Filed April 30. 1921 2 sheezs-sheei 2 IMIATHIAS Oom Ssvskm M AD SEN. BY! 16% Mk5.

ATTORNEYS.

Patented July 8, 1924.

MATI-IIAS ODIN SEVERIN MADSEN, 0F AARHUS, DENMARK, ASSIGNOR TO OTTO KRISTIAN HEESCH, 0F AARHUS, DENMARK.

COIN-CONTROLLED AP?ARATUS.

Application filed Abril 30, 1921. Serial No. 465,914.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MATHIAS ODIN Snv- ERIN MADSE-N, a subject of the King of Denmark, residing at Aarhus, Denmark, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Coin-Controlled Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to coin controlled apparatus, and particularly to prepayment meters for the supply of gas, electricity, or the like, or the maintenance in operation of an economiser clock for electric staircase lighting or the like. 7

One object of the invention is to provide a simple and effective automatic mechanism in apparatus of the class mentioned for discontinuing the supply or stopping the clockwork when the amount of commodity paid for has been supplied.

Another objectof the invention is to provide a discontinuing mechanism in which any desired number of coins up to a predetermined maximum can be inserted in succession at one time, or a single coin.

A further object of the invention is to provide a discontinuing mechanism that can be used with any kind of clockwork with only trifling constructional alteration of the latter.

In the accompanying drawing a construe A is a bracket plate fitted to the frame plate a of the clock and secured thereto by means of a pair of screws 6, and B is a similar plate secured by suitable means to the casing, not shown, which encloses the clock and the automatic device, which device is assembled on and between the two said plates A and B.

The device comprises a shaft G, which is revolubly 7 but not slidably journalled in bearings inthe. plates A and B, and the outer end thereof passesgthrough a wall in the-aforementioned casing and has, on the outside, a. crank handle" D fitted thereto. The part of shaft C, which is. located. be tween the plates A, and B is made of a somewhat, larger diameter than its other part and has on the greater part of its length a screw thread for a nut E screwed thereon. Outside of the plate B a ring-shaped disc F is secured to the shaft C by means of a set screw 0, and outside of said disc F is fitted, loose on the shaft G, a ratchet wheel G, which latter is coupled to the disc F by means of a pin d, Figure 3, engaging an arc shaped slot 6 in the ratchet wheel. The pin (2 is attached to one end of a coiled spring 7, the other end of which is attached to a pin 9 secured on the ratchet wheel. By this arrangement there is a certain movement be tween the ratchet wheel G and the disc F,

and, consequently also between the ratchet wheel and the shaft C, whilst the spring 7' tends to hold the ratchet wheel and the disc at a given angular position relatively to each other.

A little farther inside of the plate B is revolubly but not slidably fitted to shaft 0 a gear wheel H, into which two pins h are fitted diametrically opposite to each other these pins it, being disposed parallel to the shaft C and each passing loosely through a separate hole in the nut E, so that the latter is turned when the gear wheel H turns. The nut E is made comparatively wide and has in its periphery a groove, into which is fitted a revoluble ring 70, into which is secured a radially projecting pin Z which passes through a hole in a flat bar K close to an end thereof. This bar passes loosely through and is guided in a hole in the upper part of the plate A and a hole in one arm of an angle plate Z carried by said plate A. The ring 70, therefore does not take part in the rotation of the nut E, but the axial movement of the nut will be transmitted to the bar K by means of the pin Z in said ring. The ratchet wheel G co-operates with a pawl I. under action of a spring m,the said pawl being revolubly fitted, by means of a screw pin a, to the outerside of the plate B. On the outer side of the ratchet wheel G and close to its periphery a pin 0 isfitted. The pawl is made of a special shape so that it acts with the teeth in the ratchet wheel for preventing the latter from-reversing, and against the pin 0. For this purpose the pawl is provided with an extension, which lies along the side of the ratchet wheel, and which terminates in a hook 7?, which will catch and seize the pin 0, and thereby positively lock the ratchet wheel, which'turns in the, direction indi'-' cated 'by'the arrow in Figure In order that the pawl can unpreventedly assume such position, that the hook p catches the i pin 0, one tooth is omitted at agivenpoint in its periphery so that an empty space is there produced, into which the :pawl moves when the hook shall seize the pin 0. lVhen the ratchet wheel has, by this seizing of pin 10 0 been locked, the disc F, which is under action of spring f, will be in such a posi-' tion that a pocket 9, provided in the peri'pln ery of the disc/and closed' 'at the sides and" turning inwardly from' the periphery which the coinis inserted.

The gear wheel H co operate's'witlr-a=' awl, which consists of a thin strip "M of" metal placed on edgeand fitted to the upper to slide up j'and' down' on'aflange of the plate'A; being guided by'a'pair'of screw pins 8, which pass through a longitudinal 7 slot t in the slide," Figi'lre 8. At its lower extremity the side Nh'as afoot u-exte'nding to one side. A coiled spring 1), the upper end of which is attached to "the slide N whilst its lower end isattach'ed to the plate" A, pulls the slide N and with it the pawl M towards their lowermost position, in whichthe pawl is disengaged fromthe gear wheel H. O is a wheel of t he' clock work, upon whicharefitted any'de'sired number of pins g, which; u'ponthe rotation ofthe wheel will its'said 'foot'u andthe arrangement is such thatthe "lift which each pin 3 gives to the: slide at the rotation of thewheel, causes the awl M to turn the gear wheel H by one toot whereupon thesp'ring 1) will again pull the slide 'N with'the pawl M down into a'position, in which the slide-will remain until'the following" pin y begins to act against the footer.

The dog pin it has'theeifect thatthe rota tion of the gear wheel H thus produced is transmitted to, the nut E. A reversing-0f the gearwheel His prevented by a fiatspring' a:- acting as apawl, Figures 1 'an'd'Q, which this arm '5 'forms a locking member, which, in'the constructional form shown, co-operates with'the balance'wheel 7 'of'the'clock, to arrest saiclwhceland to releasetsame. A

V spring 8 tends' to hold the lever P in theposition shownin Figurel inwhich the end will be just beneath'the' opening 1 through end ofa small slide N. The latter 'is' fitted lift'the slide N 'by' acting from below against (Figures'l and 2'), and the outer end 6 of 6 does" not interfere with thevroperation of the clockwork. Turning in this =direction beyond a certain limit is prevented by a stop, not shown.

The operation isas follows: Assuming that the mechanism is in its normal position, in whichthe pawl L holds the ratchet wheel G by the hook engaging the pin 0, and that the nut E' is in'it's'outermost position to the right in Figure 1, the pocket Q in disc F is immediately beneath thecoin'insertion slot 1', and its pin d is in'thepositionin theslots inthe ratchet wheel,"Figure3. If, now coin of'the necessary size 7 (face "value-)"is dropped into the-slot;'it will enter-the pocket so 9, proj ecting' a little there-from; Thereuponf the shaftC and the'thereto' fit'ted' disc F is} by" aid ofthg crank handle D, turned to the right (in the direction indicated'by the" ar row in Figure 3) whilst the ratchet wheel re 83 main-syfor a while stillfbeing held' by the pawl which is possible because the pincl is moving in the slot 6, and' 'duri'ng' thisfirst movement the coin will press against the pawl and turn the latter in such" a 1n"anner, tl1at 9(i= its hook p is disengaged from the pin- 0 when the )in d reaches theotherend of the slot 6. T ieturning ofsh'aft C may, there-' fore, be continued, whilst" now the ratchet" wheel "Gturns with it; and-the coin drops 949 from the pocket g into a colle'ctor'or the *like; hen; however, a complete "revolutiom I has been made, thefihookpof "the ratchet will again engage the pin 0 and lock the ratchet wheel, whereby" a further turning of the shaft; in the I said direction is prevented; If;- now, the 'c-rank'handl'e isre'lease'd, the-"spring fwill'cause the discF, andtherewithi also the shaft C to turn so far back that the in (Z againcomesinto the positionfin'the slet 6 e5 7 shown in Figure-3, corresponding to whichthe pocket g is again immediately beneath the coin insertiomslot'r." The shaft- G may, thus, aftereach insertion of acoin teturned through onerevolution, and is, in fact, no turned a little beyond one revolutiom but is subsequently returned automatically by this distance: The gear wheel Hand-withit? tl1e nut E is'hy means ofi the spring "2 act ing as}? a pawl prevented from" taking part in this revolution" of the sha-ftC, and theme" fore the nutand"with it also the-bar IQ'a-re shifted a certaindistance to the "left (Figjure 1); These op ra-hens may; obviously,

be" repeat-ed several times after eachzother' 1 a as long asthe travel of the'nntfEfon thescrew threadedp'art Oif fill e' 'sliaiffi G allows,

the said nut being at each insertion of a; coin, moved by thelengthl of'- theiof the screw to the-left; and thereby the outer:

end of the being removed nrore "and" more fromthe positi ongfin which it, byaotfl ing' on" the arm 3 :oftheleverfP "induces the locking member 6 toistop thelockwork;

by engaging the pin "or stop on thefwheel 71" 13b When the clockwork has run for a predetermined period, one of the pins g; on the wheel 0 will arrive under the heel u of the slide N and further advance of the wheel will be attended by upward travel of the slide and consequently of the pawl bar M, which will return the gear wheel H to the extent of one step or tooth pitch and with it the nut E (turning is in the same direction as the shaft G has been turned by the crank handle D); whilst the shaft stands still, the nut E is moved to the right ure 1) on the shaft, and carries the bar with it by aid of the ring 70 and its pin Z. When the bar K has, by such means, been advanced sufiiciently far, its outer end acts on the arm 3 of the lever P and, at its further advance, turns this lever until the looking member 6 stops the clockwork.

The time, therefore, which will be required for moving the bar K in the direction towards the lever P by a distance which is equal tothat by which the bar is moved away from the lever after the insertion of a coin or of several coins in succession, is, absolutely determined by the number of teeth in the gear wheel H, the number of pins 3 in the wheel 0 and the speed of the revolution of the latter dependent on the clock work. The said time can, thus, be varied or regulated by simply varying the number of pins.

Th clockwork may, of course, be kept running continuously if one or several colns are inserted before the locking member 6 reaches its operative position.

It will be understood that the amount of gas, electricity, or other commodity delivered by a prepayment meter being proportional to the travel of the clockwork of the meter, the device described will shut ofi' the service when the amount paid for in advance by insertion of a coin or coins has been supplied to the customer.

I claim:

1. An apparatus of the class described comprising in combination, a clockwork train, a control device which is movable away from a clockwork stopping position proportionally to the number of coins inserted in succession, coin controlled means for moving said member as aforesaid, a slide adapted to be periodically actuated by a wheel of the clockwork train, a pawl member carried by said slide, a gear adapted to he turned stepwise by said pawl, and connections between said gear and the control device for returning the latter to its clockwork stopping position.

2. An apparatus of the class described comprising in combination, a clockwork train, a screw-threaded member, a nut engaging the threads thereof, means movable by said nut for arresting the clockwork when the nut is in an end position, coin controlled driving means for turning the screw-threaded member and thereby moving the nut away from said end position proportionally to the value of coins inserted in the apparatus, a slide adapted to be periodically actuated by a wheel of the clockwork train, a pawl member carried by said slide, a gear turning loosely on the screw-threaded member and adapted to be turned stepwise by said pawl, and connections between said gear and the nut.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature.

MATHIAS ODIN SEVERIN MADSEN. 

